


Checkmate

by ArkadyLady



Category: NCIS: Los Angeles
Genre: F/M, but i mean it fits, don't ship? please skip, i took out lots of he smirked/she smirked and some grinning and winking, may contain accidental feels, otp: talon, so add those where you want, there are also probably a lot of fics named checkmate out there, your headcanons are safe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-30
Packaged: 2018-05-10 08:48:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5579059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArkadyLady/pseuds/ArkadyLady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Callen and Talia have a first date. Maybe. Kinda. Depends on whom you ask. There’s chess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Checkmate

Talia had assumed that Callen’s invitation to “come over and play chess” was some sort of weird euphemism.  Entering the bare house and seeing a chess set on the table in the room to her right, Talia now found it weirder that the chess thing _wasn’t_  a euphemism. 

“We’re really playing chess?” she asked Callen, who was behind her closing the door. 

Callen seemed genuinely confused by this question. “Yes. I’m pretty sure that’s what I said.”

Talia nodded. “Right. No. Right. That is what you said. Yes. We…are playing chess.” 

Talia looked around to take in all the, well, nothingness.   Nodding, she remarked, “I see you’ve invested in some state-of-the-art, invisible furniture.  Fancy.” She turned to him and smiled. “You have anything to drink in this place? Beer, maybe? In the event you own a fridge, that is.”

Callen grinned. “No fridge. I actually have a large, state-of-the-art ice chest. Fanciest thing I own.”

Talia tried to keep her face from displaying the judgment she was currently feeling, but she realized that was a losing battle.  
  
Callen continued with added excitement, “See, what makes the ice chest state-of-the-art is that it can transform to _look_ like a fridge.  Well, ‘transform’ isn’t the right word. It’s a sort of hologram thing. They say it comes in handy for judgy relatives –  and for burglars who head to the freezer first!”

By the time he finished, Talia had realized he was screwing with her.  She returned his ending smirk in kind and added, “Don’t think I’m not going to verify the existence of the fridge at some point tonight.”   

Callen then went off to what Talia assumed was the kitchen, but was there any way to really tell in this place? She was also becoming increasingly sure that Callen had a mini-fridge at the most. 

While he was in the other room, Talia looked around for somewhere to put her purse before calling out to him and asking if he had a preference.

Callen shouted back from the other room, “By the lamp is fine.”  
  
Talia then looked around once more, thought about asking which one, and finally shrugged before tossing it by the closest one.  She also noticed an old toaster with some of its pieces laying around it on a TV tray in the corner.  She couldn’t help but note some slightly faded words on the TV tray’s surface: “This is not a table.”  The message reeked of maternal passive aggression, but Talia knew Callen’s situation.  She also knew the team well enough to figure out it was probably a “gift” from Sam.  

When Callen returned with a couple beers, Talia asked, “So, who’s white – or beige, rather – and who’s black?” 

“Oh, you can be white. You’re the guest.”

“Oh, giving me the first-move advantage? What a polite host you are! I don’t need it, though.” She winked at him. “Host should have first move. Besides, it’s your chess set.”

“Will this argument end, or should I just go ahead and sit down?”

Talia simply smiled and noted, “You seem like a smart man.”

Callen sat down behind the white pieces to begin plotting his first move.

Talia sat on the other side and began going through her pieces, giving them names: “Alex, Jamie, Jesse, Taylor, Casey, Lou, Ryan, and Jamie 2.” 

“Wait. Are you _naming_  your pawns?”

Talia nodded. “Yes. I always name my pawns. It helps me stay invested in the game. My pawns are named after my more _notable_ exes.” 

Callen was confused but quickly became intrigued. He put his elbows on the table and leaned forward.  “You dated two Jamies? And named two pawns after them? Isn’t that confusing?”

Talia smirked. “Oh, it’s easy to remember the difference.” 

Callen returned the smirk in kind.   He then found himself slightly relieved at an omission that would help avoid some potential awkwardness.  This was a short-lived thought.

“Are you done?”

Talia was still looking down at her pieces. “Not quite.”   
  
She then put her left and right index fingers on her rooks.  “Deeks. Kensi.”

“Wait, what? Are you naming your rooks after Kensi and Deeks to psych me out so I leave them in play?”

“All those years playing spy have made you a bit paranoid, Agent Callen. No. Kensi and Deeks are friends. Good friends. Well, I mean, they’re _my_ good friends. Not sure of their stance on me. I tend to have different ideas of friendship compared to other people.” 

Callen was still slightly suspicious.  He decided to move on, though.  

“Any other named pieces? What about your knights?”

“Well, if you were anything like some of the other guys I’ve dated, I’d name one after you to boost your ego.  However, I don’t think you’re that type. You’d probably actually be insulted because of the piece’s lower value.”

Callen smiled as Talia continued. “From what I’ve heard about you, though, a couple of years ago it would’ve been fitting to name one of the bishops after you.”  
  
“Oh really? And which rook did you hear this from?”

“That doesn’t matter.  What matters is the bishop part. It intrigues me. Don’t think I’m not following up on that at some point.” 

Callen decided to quickly veer back to the names.  He asked, “What about your king and queen?”

“No point in naming the king, really. He doesn’t need one. He’s just there, waiting to be captured or not captured. I mean, he’s valuable, but so are diamonds. And I don’t go around naming those.”

“And the queen?”

“Oh, I thought that was obvious. Sweetie, I’m the queen.” Talia then offered Callen his first move.

—–

“While you plot your next move, how about I go grab us a couple more beers and verify the existence of your fridge?”

“Sounds good.”  Callen then pointed in the direction of the kitchen.

Callen reassessed all the pieces on the board.  He was still convinced Talia had named the pieces after Kensi and Deeks to throw him off, and, if he admitted it, it did.  It also didn’t help her case that they were the only pieces whose names she said aloud when she moved them. Any time Callen would shoot her a look, she would make a really innocent face and ask, “What?” He had finally renamed them in his head to Bob and Sue. This was working somewhat, and would hopefully continue to do so as he had plans to capture Bob in a couple turns.

By the time Talia had come back, it was her turn.  

“So, I see your fridge does exist. I also see it is as cluttered as your house.”

She set one beer next to Callen and one on her side before sitting down. 

“I’m curious, though, Mother Hubbard, why do you keep fake carrots in your crisper?”

“How do you know they’re fake?”

Talia shrugged. “What? I checked.  I didn’t believe you had vegetables. And I was right. I just had to open the drawer real quick to see they’re plastic. Honestly, I didn’t even know they made fake vegetables.”

“They do. For Easter decorations, apparently. You can buy them in bunches.”

“Okay…but why? Is it to get Sam off your back?”

Callen looked slightly surprised at the latter question. “What all have the rooks been telling you?”

“Answering with a question.”

“If you were so curious, why didn’t you just look under them?”

“I’m extremely curious, but I’m not going to cross the sacred boundary of a man and his fake vegetables without permission first.”   

Callen sighed. “If you must know –” 

Talia’s eyes widened. “I must!”

Callen continued, “I hide a small gun under them.”

Talia’s face lit up with amusement. “A GUN? In the fridge?”

Callen nodded. “Yes. Tip from a friend. Plus, you know, keeps the bullets fresh. Your turn by the way.”

“I know.  Just give me a sec to scope out the board.” Talia took a sip of beer while her eyes moved up and down the board to find Callen’s latest move.

“Oh, you moved your bishop. Hey, speaking of which!”

Callen rolled his eyes.

“Don’t do that to your guest. It’s impolite. Now, come on, I let you finish a beer to loosen you up.”

Callen raised an eyebrow. “Oh, is that your plan? Get me drunk and have me spill personal things?”  

“Maybe that’s part of it.”  Talia winked.  “But, seriously. I know this job can be hell sometimes, but you can still find a little time to date. So why no dates til recently?” 

Callen shifted in his chair, clearly becoming uncomfortable.

Talia, never one who responded well to another person’s discomfort, continued. “Come on! It can be fun.  There’s excitement in it! Maybe the relationships don’t last long, maybe there’s some rejection – and that’s never fun for anyone – but hey,” she shrugged and continued, “thrill of the game!” 

“Yeah, but –” Callen cut himself off.

Talia raised her eyebrows and turned her head slightly, “Oh?”

“Nothing. Look, this is fun, but I don’t think that topic is necessarily good conversation for a first…chess game.”

“Ah. I see. Well, how about this? Let’s make this…chess game interesting. I win, you finish that sentence.”

“And what do I get when I win?” 

“’When?’ Oh, cocky. I like it. Well, _if_  you win, you get…to not finish that sentence.”

“That hardly seems balanced.”

“Ah, well, it’s a good thing this isn’t breakfast, then.”

Callen rolled his eyes, but also chuckled a little.    

“Just please make your move.”

“That is a dangerous thing to say to me,” muttered Talia as she went to pick up her knight.

—–

“Checkmate.” 

Callen leaned back in his chair after making the winning move. 

“Ah, so it is then.” Talia nodded.  “This was fun. I admit, I much prefer other games, like Jenga and Twister.  This is still better than Risk, though.” 

Callen was tempted to ask what her thoughts were on Scrabble, specifically Scrabble that had custom tiles so you could play in different languages. He decided now was not the time, though.

“Well, Callen, time to finish that sentence.”

“Wait, what?” Callen found himself saying, and even thinking, that an awful lot around Talia.  “I won. The deal – which I never agreed to, by the way – was only if _you_ won.” 

“Well, it was a stalemate. We both sort of won.”

“How many beers have you had? This is clearly my win. Hence the ‘Checkmate’ declaration.”

Talia shook her head and smiled. “I was getting tired, and I let you win. This was clearly heading for a stalemate.  It was the quickest way to end the game. Go ahead. Re-calculate the history of the game in your head. I know you can. Was this at any point heading for a stalemate? Now re-evaluate my moves to see if I could’ve gotten there.”

Callen’s face was not hiding his skepticism. Nor was his mouth. “I’m not sure I believe you.” 

“Whether or not you believe me,” Talia explained, “I still win because you’re going to be replaying and re-evaluating this game in your head for a while to come. Just because you’re curious.”

“That doesn’t count!” Callen snapped back, not bothering to deny it would be true.

“I _feel_  like it does, though. And all feelings are valid and real.”

“That’s not what that –” Callen just shook his head and sighed.  “How about I finish this beer first, and you tell me why you think dating is so great. I can shake my head at the things I don’t like.”  

“Oh! Nice. Well, let’s see, it’s always an excuse to eat at a nice or new place. You get to meet different people.  This works for them, too, because I happen to be a _fascinating_ person.  No guns in my fridge, but I have my layers. Speaking of which, you should put some onions in there. Carrots alone look suspicious because you’re not a rabbit.  And, when the occasion calls for it, I have a natural ability to rock day-old eyeliner.” Talia nodded towards Callen. “Your turn.”

“Well, I’ve only had to wear eyeliner once, and I’m not sure how it would’ve looked the next day.”

Talia smiled and gave Callen a “go on” gesture with her hand. 

Callen shifted in his chair again.  He sighed and looked off to the side. After a brief pause, he just noted, “It’s not my thing. It’s not everyone’s thing.” 

“I know. However, you seemed to have a reason earlier.”

Callen continued to stare at the wall. He was rubbing his fingers together faster than usual.  He really did enjoy…playing chess with Talia. He also knew her well enough that it would be easier to just try and get this out of the way.  Being a little tired with a few beers in probably helped push him a little, as well.

“Well, it was sort of an afterthought for me to begin with.  And then when I realized I should be doing it, the good never outweighed the bad.”

“What was the bad?”

“What you said earlier.  The short relationships. The rejections.”

“Nobody likes those things. Well, at least not the latter bit.” 

Callen nodded, still not making eye contact. “I know, but – hypothetically speaking, if a person’s childhood is filled with short relationships and rejections, he – _or she_ –  probably won’t exactly…seek them out in adulthood.”

He then turned back to look at Talia. “I mean, I guess.”

Talia was silent for a few moments before placing her hand on top of his and saying very quietly, “I imagine not.”

G then cleared his throat. “I, uh, think I owe you a tour.”


End file.
